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"possible interest for 2027" sounds like a way to get a guy out of your office without making a scene.

I see rotational piece quality in both, this year, for sure. Idk about that. IF we are going for a run, stopping base, we would want Lawson and Ceresna on the field. Not really Nuer. He's undersized and has struggled to disengage blocks to get into the run game. If anything, that is a time I'd flip Ceresna to the edge, beside a tweener big like Fletcher/Young in camp right now. Even though he's undersized a bit, KMB is much better vs the run than you'd expect. I'd also look to the 30 front in that case, with 3 big bulls you completely shut the interior gaps and force the run off tackle to one of our many Wil type bodies. In 1 year, Smith caught Ayers in terms of playmaking. Which is no small feat. Smith's intangibles are off the chart, which, combined with top-tier athleticism and the right passport, should be a first-class ticket to major reps.

I think it is pretty common that if you are a defensive lineman on the roster that you are taking reps. Those guys are constantly getting after it and need to rotate. Not sure about LBs in Younger's system. They need to a bit more sound in their responsibilities.

Wait, so that means when that waitress said she possibly had interest in me, she was just trying to get me out of the place?

Nothing wrong with being a game manager at all. I wish ZC would lean into it at this stage of his career.

Matty Ice had a couple great showings in the playoffs. Like you said, just wasn't a team that was ready to win yet.

AND in all honesty...he played well in playoffs and if not for a seive defence vs..was it BC??...He would have pulled off a playoff win...we lost but not from his play. I bet his playoff stats are much better than ZC's in his time here

I'd put Matty Ice in the Bombers HOF but definitely not the Ring. He's one of the most underrated performers from this glory era.

No big dawg she was interested! Keep your head up!

Jesus christ with the you have to earn it ****... what more could Smith have done last year to earn reps? By the end of the season guy was very noticeable every time he was on the field (pretty much only special teams). It's great to say osh will start a Canadian over an American but I don't believe that's universal. Osh loves veterans and guys who are established. He won't take reps away from them unless something forces his hand.

I was at that game. Matty Ice was red-hot, we were up and down the field all game. Classic CFL playoff game except it ended sad for us. 100% Matty deserves recognition and fan love but he's not an all-timer.

I’m not exactly a nichols booster, but I think that’s reasonable. Def not roh guy, but bb hof qb? why not i can’t think of any one not in whose better (and retired)

Reps have to be earned. MOS will play a canuck over an American, we know that, so if he's playing an American while the NAT sits on the bench it's because that NAT ain't ready.

For sure next year!

BC and Edmonton....that Edmonton game in particular...I think he had over 400yrds in that one.

Complete with Game Manager hat!

Nuer will definitely change that just because of ratio needs.

It'll be nice to have Gatkouth in camp. Hopefully he can be a rotational piece.

80% of those players were players we did not want back....even Janarion was a case of him feeling insulted by Walters not calling him. The other 20% were lost to the NFL or better offers in FA.

100 percent. Nichols saved Walters and O’sheas jobs, and without him we don’t build a team and culture good enough to win a grey cup. No way we land guys like Jefferson or Bighill without Nichols. Just to reminder people how dyer it was. We were 1-4, not a single winning season since 2011, only one winning season since 2007.. we win 10 straight games, and really the rest is history.

Great QBs on great teams don't screw things up. They play like game managers, make great plays themselves at times but let the talent around them win games. BLM may not have been as great if he had played for the Lions instead of the Stamps. Or with us from 2013-16. We were a wasteland at qb back then as I recall. Look what Collaros did in Saskatchewan. Virtually nothing. Then he comes to Winnipeg after another useless stint in Toronto as a washed up pivot & set the CFL on fire as a Blue Bomber in 2019 & 21. How good would Ken Ploen have done had he signed with the Alouettes instead of the Bombers. All the pieces have to fit in place even with the great ones to win. BTW, I think Matt Nichols doesn't get the credit he deserves. He came here for a bag of footballs as Ed Hervey felt he was washed up. Nichols turned the fortunes of the Bombers around. I'd like to see the Bombers recognize his contributions to making this organization a winner.

https://deadline.com/2026/05/reacher-season-5-renewal-prime-video-1236890046/

FWIW De'Shaan Dixon flashes at Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp - 3DownNation

I think fans took that more seriously than he did. His wife came up with the idea of making hats that said Game Manager on them so he leaned into it.

oh misinterpreted the joke. Whoops. :)

Also, all that game manager stuff that people hang on Nichols is unfair because his OC was always Lapo, and Lapo would turn Doug Flutie into a game manager if he got the chance.

Only way to earn them is in live game reps and proving it...Practice isnt gonna get it for you...film study....hustling around....nope U need to earn it and gain that trust and development with live action play...And Osh is very reluctant todo it...will ride guys ride into the dirt even when they are underperforming or flat out not good enough but he likes them...to the point which we have seen and discussed here would rather play a disabled player with no business being on the roster over giving a guy a shot...hopefully that has changed and is a thing of the past and it was spoken about internally....we shall see

You are clearly jealous of me and Charity.

That makes sense with Smith and Shay but honestly I think they could take some reps on D and we'd be fine. As for you have to earn it, we started Kolo for multiple years and each week you could watch the film and see him get blown up multiple times. We played Kornelson reps last year and he was invisible. Damian Jackson got reps and he was limited at best. Ditto Corcoran. So yeah I get earning reps but don't tell me MOS applies this to everybody.

Not necessarily formal recognition, heck maybe even just a chance to step on the field as an honored guest and get the ovation from the crowd he deserves. He never got a chance to say goodbye and we at the very least owe him that.

I think Jake was around long enough to play with Bud Grant. But yeah Jamaal was here 2015-2017 and Jake started in 2012 so they had 3 seasons together.

100% on Matty Nichols. He gave everything he had every day to our club and got injured doing it. He was not the reason we didn't get over the hump during his tenure. As much as we would all love to credit Zach for our first cup, I strongly believe that team was going to win with either Matty or Zach at the helm. We had all the right pieces.

I dunno how you honour Nichols. Not sure he deserves the ring of honour honestly. He doesn’t as he was a game manager with most of his big yards coming in the final few moments. He deserves recognition but how, I’m not sure.

It’s year 2. I think Kramdi started taking reps year 2. Osh a bit Sean McVay there with not giving drafted rookies reps year 1. Nuer might change that.

I think we're really built to use 4 American OL if that's the best option....and a "backup" American at receiver that can be out there most of the game if we want based on using the roster rules. Also ALL our OL depth is American. Like if Neufeld or Eli say "sorry I'm done" tomorrow or someone tears their bicep, all we have to go with are Americans. Ultimately not going to matter how many American receivers out there if the interior OL is getting driven back and not letting QB eyes get downfield. Not that it isn't always but I think the lesson learned the last couple years is the offense relies on controlling the line of scrimmage. We saw that slide a little bit and really struggled to find any consistency pass or run.

Not that i’ve seen. I could see us starting 2 and having clercius/daniels rotate as package guys. Whites played 5 years in the league and could be used rostered as the naturalized player. So we use that and have half his snaps counted as a canadian with two other americans, then have clercius/daniels play snaps to keep the ratio.

Imagine having 16 OL in camp and only 5 being Canadian. If you told someone 20 years ago the league would shift that drastically toward having Canadians play at LB/DB and receiver/RB vs OL/DL they wouldn't have believed you.

I took Mike's post as a joke and thought it was so funny.

the thing is with some players hype, and the perception (and a lot of times correct) that a guy has it and should/could be playing is that in the CFL, especially with a rigid roster framework/ratio idea and or a very biased Coach (which is and may still be an issue here) better players are gonna be cut adrift, or get no opportunity and the bad taste of knowing you got cut for a scrub or a favorite is a big factor in PR refusal...and rightfully so....just way it is in CFL when you have a ratio, and also an overly Patriotic Canadian head Knock.... All that being said am looking forward to some days at camp...will throw out my opinion, and take it for what it is...my opinions and looking forward to DL/WR and LB battles, and a what we do on Oline and Receiver....with our "overall depth" especially on defense I hope we dont go 3 import on Oline and 3 cabadian at receiver...that makes us a weaker team and the trade off in production at both spots doing so isnt big enough to make it worth it Especially if later this yr or in 2027 one of or both of Manu and the kid we drafted stroll into camp...along with likely more Wallace development and Vibert being ready to play in prime time. Plus we need a 6'3" or bigger receiver with skills to win one on ones to augment or wr group....we have lacked that for yrs now but have been burned by guys like that...a lot

Yup, streaming it right now

Strength of the team is a tough one. Did Flutie ever start on a bad or average team? Do we downgrade Zach's renaissance because he was on a generational team? Does that, by extension, nearly wipe out Kharis' career? What about AC's loyalty to the Als or his willingness to remake himself late in his career? Something similar can be said of all the top QBs. Some of those factors are bigger than others. Imo, the big ones are Danny Mac just slinging it on so many bad or mediocre teams (while piling up the picks), Allen padding numbers like emmit smith while only having a small number of good passing years, Harris/KG padding on good teams and not elevating teams, and just the vastly different era for guys before Brock/Moon/Clements. Even that era, up through Khari to the modern era, is a massive change. Nothing is gained by reducing the greatness of any of those guys, though.

Ricky Ray was on some very average teams, particularly in Edmonton, but he'd still put up the yardage For his GC win in Toronto, the team around him wasn't all that good